Description

The Paisano Overhang is a 4" to 6" offwidth 20 foot roof crack on Paisano pinnacle atop the Sunshine Face on the front side of Paisano jam crack. The crux is definitely the lip the last 6 to 8 feet of the roof go beyond inverted with MAX exposure high above the Sunshine Face.

The story of how Leavittation came to be was in an old Mountain Magazine article years back, but I can't recall the issue number. Randy and Tony Yaniro perfected their technique on the concrete roof cracks of a parking garage, while Tony trained for the Grand Illusion on the underside of some stairs at Glendale High School, or so the story goes.

4 stars, for sure. Great location, great rock, spectacular moves, big history. I've only tried it once. I got my foot stuck around the lip, so I ended up hanging from one leg upside down for about a half hour or so. I was finally able to untie and abandon my shoe and then dropped out of the crack onto the slab below. After that ordeal, I had to aid out there to retrieve my shoe that was still firmly fixed in the crack above the lip of the roof. I have yet to return for round #2. Someday....

All time classic. Exposure, pride of place on the wall, history, moves, this one has it all. Not "R" with modern gear, although it can be difficult to place from strenuous positions.

Gear Beta: Belay anchor at start of route= 1 each: 0.5 camalot, pre-c4 #4 camalot, yellow#2 tcu or yellow alien. Roof in order to the lip, pre-c4 camalots = #4s before the constriction/jog, #4.5s after. Take two of each.

Access: Climb basically anything on the Weeping Wall or Sunshine Face. We soloed up the Bye Gully.

Historical Note: Contrary to the description, the bongs were not placed on lead during the FFA. They were pre-placed.

And that leads to a pretty important factor if you are attempting this route on the lead: how to keep your rope from jamming in the roof pro after turning the lip. With a bong at the lip, no issue, rope runs around it...today, well a tube or big bro or something is probably a good idea right after the lip to keep the rope out of your lower gear. Recommend a #2 bro (yeah, who owns one that small right?).

Went up there with John Long back in the 80's. Climbed Paisano Jam Crack and set up a top rope. John tied in and jammed right out to the lip... and came off. When he fell, the rope traveled through the crack, and he hit the slab so hard I thought he broke both legs, but he was fine. He got right back up there and did it second try, no problem, with no tape on his hands!

It is not "r" as in run out. You can plug a cam anywhere you want, it is pretty complicated to protect it well when/if you make it out of the roof. You must use a big bro or clip a cam pointing back to the belayer inside the crack, as a directional to keep the rope from getting stuck. Can't really call it R I guess, but it should be noted that the pro is complicated.